Consumers Party On for Major Brands

Call it a modern-day Tupperware party. Big, mass marketers like Microsoft, Kraft Foods, Ford, Verizon, Nestle and S.C. Johnson are going grassroots, enlisting consumers to throw parties in their homes to sell their products.

For Microsoft, which said it achieved "significant" success from a 14-country house party event in October for Windows 7, the appeal is the opportunity to make a lasting impression in relaxed, intimate settings.

"People are more jaded than they've been before about marketing and advertising," said Microsoft's Kathleen Hall, gm of consumer marketing, worldwide campaigns and product marketing for Windows. "This kind of lets you prove [a product's value] in a firsthand, experiential way. And the role of friends and influencers -- friends who are in the know -- is pretty significant in the purchase decision for a lot of things now."

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